Alaska LNG $46 billion claim is 'complete garbage'

Sitka Sen. Bert Stedman is right. The claim that the Alaska LNG project would cost $46.2 billion is “complete garbage.”

On Wednesday, Stedman asked Nick Fulford, the consultant hired by the Legislature, what capital expenditure cost estimates he is using now on the expected cost of the project, saying that recycling old numbers is one of the “indigestion points.”

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Alaska LNG project cost? No one really knows.

The Alaska Department of Revenue has lately been claiming the cost of the Alaska LNG project is $46.2 billion, a statistic that will be repeated so often during the special session that some people might be tempted to think it is real.

The news coverage that refers to a “$46.2 billion project” is misleading. The repitition conveys a false and unwarranted sense of precision.

The truth is that no one knows the real cost of this gigantic project, which is the biggest challenge.

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Dunleavy lobbyist Mark Begich evades the Glenfarne flip-flop on property taxes

The Mark Begich video accurately represents the claims being made by Dunleavy, Glenfarne, many Republican legislators and business groups who have swallowed the notion that the Alaska LNG project will live or die depending upon whether the Legislature provides the 90 percent tax cut pushed by Dunleavy.

But the video is misleading.

It’s most notable for what Begich failed to reveal, which is that a year ago, no one was saying the Legislature had to cut property taxes or else. And six months ago no one said the Legislature had to cut property taxes or else.

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What secret promises have been made to Glenfarne?

Late Monday, after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed the pension bill that he was using as a bargaining chip in the gas pipeline tax cut campaign, the Anchorage Daily News reported, “With the veto, it is unclear whether lawmakers will move forward with legislation intended to give tax breaks to project developers.”

That makes it more likely that Dunleavy will call a special session to try to get the tax break approved.

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